Friday, 15 November 2013

The Brandon Wheat Kings look for a third straight win Friday night when they host the Saskatoon Blades (7:30 p.m., Westman Communications Group Place).

Tim McGauley will look to continue his recent hot streak, with the second-year centre having produced seven points in five games since returning from an upper injury that caused him to miss three games.

No player ever wants to miss games with an injury but McGauley feels sitting and watching those three games allowed him to see things from a different perspective.

"When you watch guys like Jayce (Hawryluk) out there, he's a really good offensive player and you see his positioning out there and what he does in the offensive zone," said McGauley after Thursday's Wheat Kings' practice, "You watch guys like Chad Robinson who are really good in the defensive zone, you really get the feel for them out there when you watch them. Then you try to learn from them and when you get out on the ice, you try to mimic their play almost."

McGauley snapped a 13-game goalless drought by scoring for the first time since September 28 on Wednesday night in Brandon's 5-2 victory in Saskatoon.

The 18-year old admits it was a bit of a relief to snap the long goalless drought, but he and linemates Jayce Hawryluk and Richard Nejezchleb also drew good reviews for their defensive efforts on Wednesday night.

McGauley feels their improved defensive play is part of the reason for their offensive success.

"Teams have been noticing our line's success and they've been matching their best players against us. We've been doing a good job defensively," said McGauley, "We know we have to play good defensively to play offence against the top players. We've been doing that lately."

McGauley, Hawryluk and Nejezchleb have combined for 23 points in the last five games with the trio also combined for a +14 rating.Chaff...the Wheat Kings are searching for a third straight victory on Friday night, which would be a season high for Brandon. The Wheat Kings have won back-to-back games five times this season including their current two-game streak but have yet to stretch the streak to three consecutive victories...the Team West roster for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is expected to be announced early Friday afternoon.

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About Me

I have been the voice of the Brandon Wheat Kings and Sports Director at CKLQ Radio in Brandon since 1993.
The purpose of my blog is to provide you with up-to-date Wheat Kings' news and items.
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